Ali Shihab Hassan, the principal of Al-Kharibah Middle School in Baalbek, Lebanon, has asked students to bring to school branches from local orchards—fig, almond, cherry, and apricot trees, as well as flammable hardwood.
The principal’s unusual request aims to keep the school running during winter and provide heating to students during this season’s snowy weather.
Lebanon’s public schools grapple with funding shortages, with the government struggling to meet their needs, particularly in providing heating during winter in high-altitude regions.
“With no support from the Ministry of Education for fuel and local associations showing indifference, we had to switch from diesel to wood-burning heaters,” Hassan told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Outside the school, where 260 students are spread across 13 classes from kindergarten to fourth grade, students at Al-Kharibah Middle School are bringing tree branches into classrooms with diesel-powered heaters.
They’re getting creative with the heaters, turning the fire area into a place to light the wood.
Teacher Salwa Hazeem, with 26 years as a contractor at this middle school, is part of this effort in the classroom.
Hazeem complains about using wood in diesel heaters without proper supplies, causing more smoke in the classrooms.
“When a student lit wooden furniture with paint, the classroom became hazy, and the chemical paint smell made some students nauseous,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Their health got worse, leading to absences,” she noted.
Hazeen urged the caretaker Minister of Education, Abbas Halabi, to step in and help the students.
It is worth noting that Al-Kharibah Middle School was constructed in 1980 with the collaboration of local residents and the social club of Al-Kharibah, featuring 11 small rooms.
Subsequently, a new building comprising 13 rooms was added in 2013.
Teachers are feeling the impact of the hardships faced by parents and students.
“I’ve been on a contract for 30 years, but this year is the toughest,” said math teacher Rakan Al-Halani.
Al-Halani raises concerns about the unequal treatment of Lebanese students whose families struggle to afford school supplies compared to Syrian refugee children supported by the UN, receiving free stationery and books.
